New York – The organization Puertorriqueños Unidos en Acción (PUA) sent a letter this week to the Carter Center to assign observers during the general elections on November 5 on the island.
The entity, based in Virginia, argues in the letter that the request arises in response to the multiple complaints of irregularities that have been attributed in recent months to the State Election Commission (CEE) in the management of voting lists, registration processes and the decertification of minority candidates.
“This request comes in light of serious allegations of fraud in voting lists, voter registrations and the exclusion of opposition party candidates from appearing on ballots, which has significantly undermined public confidence in the process.” electoral,” Manuel Rivera stated in the letter sent to the institution on Wednesday.
In the document cited by El Nuevo Día, the lawyer specifies, however, that the Carter Center requires that this type of request come from the electoral authorities and be endorsed by the political parties.
“Political parties are a little late in requesting it,” said Rivera, who lives in Washington, DC.
In the communication, the activist also made reference to the complexity and controversy generated by the call for the Creole plebiscite on the same day of the elections, which is only supported by the ruling New Progressive Party (PNP).
The letter was sent to the deputy director of the Carter Center’s Democracy Program, Avery Davis-Roberts.
The entity’s move also responds to distrust of potential monitors that the United States Department of Justice may send.
Last week, five congressmen led by Puerto Rican Democrat Nydia Velázquez sent a letter to the federal agency asking for observers to ensure that the rights of voters on the island are safeguarded.
Part of the approach of Democrats in the House is that, given the “unprecedented obstacles” that Puerto Ricans have faced in their right to vote, the federal government must intervene.
The signatories also pointed out the need for the Department to conduct an audit into the use of almost $7 million in HAVA (The Help America Vote Act of 2002) funds by authorities on the island that were supposed to be used to improve voting systems. and access to electoral processes.
Outreach of the Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that has helped improve the lives of people in more than 80 countries through conflict resolution, including electoral issues.
The Center was founded in 1982 by former Democratic President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in collaboration with Emory University.
The Carter Center’s Democracy Program works globally to promote democratic elections and governance that are consistent with human rights.
Since 1989, the entity has monitored more than 100 elections in 38 countries.
The entity recently served as an international observer of the Venezuelan presidential elections.
In that case, the delegation determined that the presidential election in the South American country did not conform to international parameters and standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.
Allegations of irregularities in the EEC
The CEE has been under greater public scrutiny this year due to the proximity of the elections and due to several deficiencies in the processes, including the slowness in removing deceased voters from its records and the complications that thousands of Puerto Ricans have faced in completing the procedures. of electoral registration online and directly at the Permanent Registration Boards (JIPs).
This week, a federal judge in Puerto Rico dismissed a lawsuit from the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) that asked to extend the registration period, which closed on September 21, until October 6. The plaintiffs stated that the 2020 Electoral Code itself, which governs the primary and election processes, establishes that date as the deadline.
This month, the report of a mission of observers from the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (UNIORE) also emerged, in which several failures were identified in the primaries held on June 2 in Puerto Rico, ranging from lack of uniformity in the counting process and transmission of results, absence of electoral officials and violation of the secrecy of the vote.
What is PUA?
PUA was founded more than 20 years ago by four Puerto Ricans of different political ideologies, as Rivera explained in an opinion column in 2020 in the aforementioned newspaper.
“The organization was created with the purpose of advocating for the participation of the diaspora in the self-determination processes of Puerto Rico that will define, once and for all, the future political status of the country. According to the mission of the organization, in order to exercise that right in a democratic and sovereign manner, the transfer of sovereign powers to the people of Puerto Rico is required,” the spokesperson specified at that time.
PUA spoke out against the sixth plebiscite on the island “Statehood, yes or no”, promoted by the PNP.
In the letter, Rivera stated that the plebiscitary consultation did nothing to advance the cause of decolonization.
“This referendum lends itself to dividing us as a people and hinders the efforts of Puerto Ricans who together sincerely seek to advance the agenda that could change our relations of political subordination with the United States, regardless of the status option,” he argued.
More recently, last June, in an open letter, Rivera called on President Joe Biden, within the framework of the hearing before the United Nations Decolonization Committee in which the issue of Puerto Rico would be considered, to instruct his delegation in the UN to participate in the work and present an official position.
“Until the United States takes the necessary steps to join the Committee’s work, any attempt by Congress to address the status issue will be futile, and such actions lack any serious attempt to resolve the problem,” he said.
Keep reading:
International group of observers confirms failures during the primaries in Puerto Rico
ACLU in Puerto Rico considers dismissal of federal lawsuit over voter registration deadline a “hard blow” to democracy
September 21 is the last day to register with the EEC to vote in Puerto Rico; court does not grant deadline extension
Nydia Velázquez heads a letter to the federal Department of Justice to request observers in Puerto Rico elections
They threaten to sue CPI in Puerto Rico for obtaining confidential data from the EEC on deceased voters
Puerto Rico: PIP also asks supporters to leave the Creole plebiscite ballot blank
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